Great range day

[bnkrazy]

We had a great range day today. First, a little history about one of our friends. We'll call her Mary.

One year ago. Mary is extremely afraid of guns, but cannot articulate a reason for the phobia. She gets the shivers whenever you tell her you're going shooting. To give you a sense of how bad it was I couldn't get this gal to even hold a .22lr cartridge. My wife though has been talking to her and several friends for the last year or so about shooting, and one by one we've gotten most of them introduced to the sport.

Then 6 months or so ago, we had a talent show and she was in charge of gathering up acts, etc. She came over wanting me to play my guitar for it and while I was thinking it over, she added "if you play, I'll go shooting with you." I was already planning on doing it, but I couldn't pass this up and blurted out "OK" a split second after she offered. You should have seen her eyes. After the show I never pushed the issue except for an occasional "you owe me" look, etc.

By last month, most of our mutual friends had gone to the range with us and were always talking about how much fun it was, going back (some have), etc.

I guess her curiosity finally got to her because out of the blue, Mary starts asking when we're going shooting next. Not that she wanted to go, just when were we going.

Then, this past couple weeks, she finally did ask when my wife was going to have a 'girls day' at the range. I never thought in a million years that she would be asking to go shooting!

So, we packed up this morning with her, her husband and another couple and drove out to the range. Neither of the women had shot before, but the other was more excited to be there than nervous.

We started them out with the MKII and although I could tell Mary was nervous, she did really good. She even shot my wife's P239 9mm. Hit a Gatorade bottle with it at 7yds too. I was impressed. She didn't want her pics online, so the woman in the photos is not Mary, but below are a few from the day.

The moral of this longer than expected story: Be patient and let them come to you when they're ready. Everyone had an enjoyable and safe time.

Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ-bnr4oozw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS7zgMBVeAY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNWvFLwne28

 

[FieroCDSP]

She didn't want her pics online, so the woman in the photos is not Mary, but below are a few from the day.

Maybe she's a mole for the Bradys....

Nice work. The largest part of dealing with any phobia is to have the guts to confront it. Supportive friends help.

 

[XD Fan]

Good work. I am glad she had fun.

 

[scrat]

for sure excellent work. now you just need to take her to the gun shop.

 

[bnkrazy]

now you just need to take her to the gun shop.

One of the other friends we introduced a few months ago has gone on to get her ccw and is now looking for a carry gun. Self-protection is contagious.

 

[3KillerBs]

Congratulations to her for overcoming her fear. You must have done a great job of building trust into your friendship for her to put a step that big into your hands.

 

[tuckerdog1]

Good story. Do you think she'll go again?

Tuckerdog1

 

[Slotback]

One convert at a time. And it appears that bnkrazy converted one today.

Good work.

 

[ToeRag]

You should make sure you tell them to ALWAYS wear eye/ear protection, even if you are not shooting. (check photo)

That should be the first purchase, even before a firearm.

 

[bnkrazy]

@Tuckerdog1:
I don't know if she'll go again soon or not. I hope so, but I don't think it is a real priority for her at the moment. Most of the other women that my wife and I have introduced to shooting did it because of an interest on their part. "Mary" on the other hand did it I think mainly because we made a deal, even if I wasn't going to hold her to it. The fact remains that she is no longer deathly afraid of guns, and that's a large step up from her previous position.

@ToeRag:
We always wear eyes and ears. You may not see it in the pics because of the quality/distance, but I make it known that it's mandatory and they can buy their own before coming or use the extras I have on hand. Everyone shooting that day happened to wear reading glasses already.

 

[ToeRag]

Thats good, it just appeared you were swapping ear muff protection...

I never use just reading glasses, even wearing shooting safety glasses I caught a .22LR over the top of the lens, that just happened to stop at the bottom of the lens of my right eye, against my face. It left a nice burn mark for about a week.

A fellow co-worker that shoots noticed the burn, the next morning - without saying anything to him he said, "Hey what did you do catch a .22 behind your safety glasses?" It's a common thing to happen especially with .22LR's.

The other reason I don't recommend reading glasses, the focus point to a front sight it generally greater that what reading glasses are designed to focus on, and the target tends to be REALLY blurry.

 

[bnkrazy]

Well, you're right that some did switch from plugs to muffs just to see the difference/convenience. Regarding the casing in the eye, luckily I have never had that happen. I've shot a lot in the past several years, but only recently began getting into .22lr due to prices, etc. I guess statistically I'm overdue to catch some hot brass somewhere due to the large amount of ammo I go through each year however, if I didn't wear my glasses, I wouldn't be able to make out the target at all. My eyesight sucks.

I don't know if the folks shooting were wearing reading glasses or just plain vision-correction glasses. Everyone was hitting what they were aiming at though, and that's what counts.

 

[JPolito830]

Nice job...and thanks for the post. Sounds like it was a great day!